Plastic closure comprising a drinking or pouring neck and foil piercing device

ABSTRACT

The closure consists of a lower closure part, which forms a drinking and pouring neck, in addition to a closure cap, which is pivotally connected to the lower closure part by a hinge. The drinking and pouring neck sits in a planar disc, onto which the hinge of the closure cap is formed. Below the disc, the drinking and pouring neck is surrounded by a deformable wall that forms a cone or dome, said wall extending obliquely downwards from the neck and being connected to the outer edge of the lower closure part. The drinking and pouring neck projects beneath the underside of said deformable wall and the lower edge of said neck forms at least two piercing elements. A spacer strip is formed onto the lower edge of the closure cap by means of one or more material bridges that act as predetermined breaking points. The spacer band guarantees that the cap has never been opened.

The present invention relates to a plastic closure comprising a drinkingor pouring neck and foil piercing device, which offers a first openingguarantee and, in addition thereto, serves to open a foil-sealedcontainer or container neck equipped with this closure without needing,for this purpose, to touch the actual drinking or pouring neck with thefingers. This closure is suitable for containers of all types, inparticular for those made of plastic, composite board, glass, or elsefor tubes or other containers made of a combination of theaforementioned materials. It is suitable, above all, for contents ofliquid or paste-like consistency.

There are already a wide variety of plastic closures comprising adrinking or pouring neck, which are generally known as sports closures.These normally consist of a closure bottom part, which can be screwedonto a threaded neck, and a closure cap formed articulately thereon. Inthe center of the closure bottom part a drinking and pouring neck isfitted, which is axially displaceable for opening and closing purposes.For initial usage, the entire closure has to be unscrewed from thecontainer, whereafter the sealing foil on the container neck can be tornoff and the closure then screwed back onto the container, after whichthe closure lid is removed or opened up and frees the drinking orpouring neck. In other solutions, the sealing foil, following opening upof the closure cap, is pierced by the drinking and pouring neck beingpressed axially downward with the fingers. Because the neck must betouched for this purpose, this solution is incapable of fully meetingthe hygiene requirements. Moreover, all these solutions are of multipartconstruction, i.e. they are made from a plurality of parts which havebeen individually injection molded and subsequently put together. Thesemultipart solutions are dear and require complicated, space-consumingassembly plants.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a closurecomprising a drinking and pouring neck, which closure offers a firstopening guarantee and with which closure the sealing foil of a containeror container neck equipped therewith can be opened without the actualdrinking or pouring neck having to be touched with the fingers andwithout the entire closure having to be removed from the container. Inaddition, this closure is intended to be producible in one piece, i.e.in a single injection molding operation.

This object is achieved by a plastic closure comprising a drinking orpouring neck and foil piercing device, consisting of a closure bottompart, which forms a drinking and pouring neck, as well as a closure cap,which is connected by a hinge pivotably to the closure bottom part, andwhich is characterized in that the drinking and pouring neck sits in aplanar disk, onto which the hinge of the closure cap is formed, in thatbeneath the disk the drinking and pouring neck is enclosed by adeformable wall, which forms a concave cone or a convex dome, and whichwall leads obliquely downward from the neck and is connected to theouter edge of the closure bottom part, the drinking and pouring neckprojecting over this deformable wall on the underside thereof and itslower edge forming at least two piercing elements, and in that onto thelower edge of the closure cap a distancing band is formed via one ormore material bridges acting as predetermined breaking points, thedistancing band, in the closed state of the closure cap, enclosing thedeformable wall and resting on the outer edge of the closure bottompart, so that the closure cap, after this distancing band has been tornoff, can be pressed downward, at the same time as the disk, and thedrinking and pouring neck passing through it, are depressed and thedeformable wall is deformed.

In the figures, different variants of this single-part closure forapplying to a large number of containers are represented in variousviews. The closure is described in detail and its working is explainedwith reference to these figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a closure with closed closure cap, having an integrateddistancing and distancing band between the closure cap and the closurebottom part, viewed from the side;

FIG. 2 shows the closure according to FIG. 1 with swung-open closure capand exposed drinking and pouring neck;

FIG. 3 shows the closure following injection molding, with swung-openclosure cap;

FIG. 4 shows the closure following removal of the distancing band in across section, as the closure cap is pressed down;

FIG. 5 shows the closure according to FIGS. 1 and 2 in a view seen fromdiagonally below;

FIG. 6 shows the closure according to FIGS. 1 and 2 in a view seen fromdiagonally below, at a different viewing angle;

FIG. 7 shows the closure prior to first opening, with intact distancingband and shut closure cap, in a view from the rear, looking onto thehinge of the closure cap;

FIG. 8 shows a closure according to FIGS. 1 and 2 in cross section,screwed onto a container neck sealed with a foil, in the lower,depressed setting of the drinking neck;

FIG. 9 shows such a closure in cross section, which closure is impactedonto a container neck sealed with a foil;

FIG. 10 shows such a closure in cross section, which closure is bondedon over the foil-sealed hole of a composite pack;

FIG. 11 shows various containers and packs onto which such a closure canbe fitted.

FIG. 1 shows the closure 1 in side view. In order of viewing from abovecan be seen firstly the closure cap 2, onto whose lower edge adistancing band 5 is formed via some material bridges 14 designed to actas predetermined breaking points. This acts, at the same time, as adistancing band and rests on the closure bottom part 4, so that theclosure cap 2 cannot therefore be tilted or pressed further downward.Onto the bottom of the closure bottom part a further distancing band 6is formed, via the material bridges 15. A lip 16 on the closure cap 2helps to tilt this upward for opening purposes. On the other side of theclosure cap the hinge 21 can be seen, by which the closure cap isconnected with the upper edge to a disk (not visible here) situatedlevel with the upper edge of the distancing band. The closure bottompart here forms a threaded cap, which can be screwed onto the threadedneck on a container. In order that the threaded cap, where necessary,can be unscrewed from said threaded neck, it is provided on the outsidewith ribs 3. The distancing band 5 forms close to the hinge 21 a tab,having ribs 11, by which ribbed tab it can be gripped for tear-offpurposes.

FIG. 2 shows the closure with opened closure cap 2. It is in this statethat the closure emerges from the injection molding die. The distancingband 5 is formed onto the lower edge of the closure cap 2. On the innerside of the closure cap, a ring 25 can be recognized, which, when theclosure cap 2 is shut, is slipped over the drinking and pouring neck 13and then encloses it at the upper edge. This drinking and pouring neck13 is here arranged centrally in a planar disk 7, to which the closurecap 2 is connected by the hinge 21. Formed onto the outside of thisplanar disk 7 are latching elements 12. The disk 7, with the drinkingand pouring neck 7 which it surrounds, can be pressed axially downward,whereafter the latching elements 12 engage on appropriately fittingcatch elements on the closure bottom part 4 and retain or lock the disk7, together with the drinking and pouring neck 13, in this loweredposition. The drinking and pouring neck 13 has on the upper edge on theouter side a bead 10. This is enclosed in a positive-locking manner bythe ring 25 on the inner side of the closure cap 2 whenever the closurecap 2 is swung down onto the neck. Formed in the clear opening 9 of thedrinking and pouring neck 13 is a star-shaped reinforcement 31. If theclosure cap 2 is swung out of the position here shown onto the closurebottom part 4, then the ring 25 engages over the upper edge of thedrinking and pouring neck 13 and keeps the cap 2 swung down. The closurethen appears as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows the closure in this position once again, yet at a differentviewing angle, so that the region beneath the planar disk 7 is seen. Ascan be seen, extending beneath the disk 7 from the drinking and pouringneck 13 is a deformable wall 8, which here forms a type of arch or dome,i.e. the wall is curved outward and runs diagonally downward and isconnected at its lower end to the upper edge of the closure bottom part4. This wall 8 can also form a cone with an inwardly curved wall or aconcertina wall. For the opening of the closure, the closure cap 2, inthe swung-shut state, is pressed axially downward. On the closed closureas shown in FIG. 1, the distancing band 5 is first torn off, while theclosure cap 2 remains sealed.

This state of the closure is represented in FIG. 4 on the basis of across section. With one finger or with the hand, the closure cap 2 isnow pressed downward. The drinking and pouring neck 13 with its innerreinforcement 31, and the disk 7 enclosing it, is thereby displacedlikewise axially downward, while the, in this case, arch-like wall 8 isdeformed. Finally, the latching elements 12 engage on the outer edge ofthe disk 7 with associated latching elements 32 on the upper edge of theclosure bottom part 4. At the same time, the lower, toothed edge of thedrinking and pouring neck 13 has pierced with its piercing elements 22the sealing foil, which is fitted over the threaded neck equipped withthe closure or else is glued onto the shoulder 30 formed on the innerside of the closure bottom part 4. Only now is the closure cap 2 swungopen, thus freeing the drinking and pouring neck 13. The sealing foilhas thus been pierced and opened without the drinking and pouring neck13 having had to be touched with the fingers.

In FIG. 5, the closure is represented viewed in perspective from below.To the back of the closure can be seen the hinge 21. In the center ofthe closure can be seen the drinking and pouring neck 13 with thepiercing elements 22 on its lower edge. The pouring neck 13 is enclosedfrom below by the deformable wall 8. This here forms the underside of anarch-like elevation. It is additionally provided with regions 17, 18,which form bulges upward or downward and which facilitate thedeformation of the wall 8 when the neck 13 is depressed by the closurecap 2. In the shown example, S-shaped ribs 19 are also formed in. Whenthe neck 13 is depressed and the wall 8 is deformed, said S-shaped ribscause the neck 13, during its downward motion, to be set in slightrotation, which makes it easier for a sealing foil to be pierced and cutopen with the piercing elements 22. In FIG. 6, a similar representationat a somewhat different viewing angle can be seen.

FIG. 7 shows the closed closure viewed from behind. The hinge 21, theshut closure cap 2 and, adjoining its lower edge, the distancing band 5,which acts as a spacer, in that it rests with its lower edge on thelower closure part 4 and prevents the closure cap 2 from being presseddown on the closure bottom part 4, can be seen. For the pressing down,this distancing band 5 must first be removed. To this end, it can begripped by the tab having the ribs 11 and can be torn off from the loweredge of the closure cap 2, with breakage of the different fine materialbridges.

FIG. 8 shows a cross section through a closure of this type after theclosure cap 2 has been pressed down. As can be seen, the drinking andpouring neck 13 has also thereby been depressed and its lower edge,equipped with piercing elements 22, has torn open the sealing foil 26which sealed the container neck 23. The disk 7 engaged on the closureunderside 4 and now holds the drinking and pouring neck 13 fixed in thisposition, even when the closure cap 2 is swung open. The distancing band5 is no longer visible, having previously been torn off. The closurebottom part is realized as a threaded cap with internal thread 27.

FIG. 9 shows a very similar closure, with the sole difference that theclosure bottom part is here not realized as a threaded cap, but as apress-on cap having a circumferential inner bead 29, with which it canbe impacted onto a correspondingly shaped container neck. A foil presentbetween the closure and the container edge can be glued down on bothsides or heat-sealed with induction heat.

FIG. 10 shows a once again similar closure, the closure bottom part ofwhich is formed out into a flange 28, with which the closure is glued orbonded on over the foil-sealed hole of a container, for example acardboard pack. In FIG. 11, finally, a few different container types areshown, which can be equipped with a closure of this type, namely aplastic bottle, especially a PET bottle, or metal flask or glass bottle,then a composite board in some form, for example a round or cylindricalcomposite pack or a composite tetrapack. It is also suitable, however,for a cardboard cup sealed with a plastic lid with sealing foil, or fora tube.

1. A plastic closure comprising a drinking or pouring neck and foilpiercing device, consisting of a closure bottom part, which forms adrinking and pouring neck, as well as a closure cap, which is connectedby a hinge pivotably to the closure bottom part, characterized in thatthe drinking and pouring neck sits in a planar disk, onto which thehinge of the closure cap is formed, in that beneath the disk thedrinking and pouring neck is enclosed by a deformable wall, which formsa concave cone or a convex dome, and which wall leads obliquely downwardfrom the neck and is connected to the outer edge of the closure bottompart, the drinking and pouring neck projecting over this deformable wallon the underside thereof and its lower edge forming at least twopiercing elements, and in that onto the lower edge of the closure cap adistancing band is formed via one or more material bridges acting aspredetermined breaking points, the distancing band, in the closed stateof the closure cap, enclosing the deformable wall and resting on theouter edge of the closure bottom part, so that the closure cap, afterthis distancing band has been torn off, can be pressed downward, at thesame time as the disk, and the drinking and pouring neck passing throughit, are depressed and the deformable wall is deformed.
 2. The plasticclosure comprising a drinking or pouring neck and foil piercing deviceas claimed in claim 1, characterized in that formed onto the edge of thedisk are latching elements, which, when the planar disk is depressed,engage on the upper edge of the lower closure part, so that the disk ishereafter locked in the depressed position on the closure bottom part.3. The plastic closure comprising a drinking or pouring neck and foilpiercing device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that thedeformable wall enclosing the drinking and pouring neck is ofdome-shaped configuration, the drinking and pouring neck being seated inthe center of the formed dome.
 4. The plastic closure comprising adrinking or pouring neck and foil piercing device as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that the deformable wall enclosing the drinking andpouring neck forms a cone, the drinking and pouring neck being seated inthe center of this cone.
 5. The plastic closure comprising a drinking orpouring neck and foil piercing device as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that the deformable wall has at least one sub-region asa deformation aid, which sub-region lifts off downward or upward fromthe wall surface thereof.
 6. The plastic closure comprising a drinkingor pouring neck and foil piercing device as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that the deformable wall has at least one rib as atwisting aid, running at an oblique angle to its radial, which rib isdesigned to set the pouring neck and its piercing elements in rotationas the wall is deformed.
 7. The plastic closure comprising a drinking orpouring neck and foil piercing device as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that formed on the underside of the closure cap is aring, which, when the closure cap is swung shut, encloses the upper edgeof the drinking and pouring neck, and the closure bottom part, at theplace where the deformable wall adjoins its outer edge, has acircumferential edge, which is designed to act as a supporting surfacefor the lower edge of the distancing band.
 8. The plastic closurecomprising a drinking or pouring neck and foil piercing device asclaimed in claim 1, characterized in that the closure bottom part formson its underside a threaded cap with internal thread, which cap can bescrewed onto the threaded neck of a container.
 9. The plastic closurecomprising a drinking or pouring neck and foil piercing device asclaimed in claim 1, characterized in that the closure bottom part has aninner, circumferential or part-circumferential bead, or a groove, withwhich it can be impacted on over a fittingly shaped pouring neck of acontainer.
 10. The plastic closure comprising a drinking or pouring neckand foil piercing device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in thatthe closure bottom part passes into a flange protruding radiallytherefrom, which flange can be applied over the foil-sealed hole of acontainer.